First move by Braves made....off with their heads!

[bird_dirt]

Frank Wren is dismissed. John Hart named interim GM.

Sorry, no link. Saw it posted to their FB page.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

The Braves fired general manager Frank Wren on Monday, marking the first time that one of baseball’s most stable organizations has fired a GM or manager in nearly a quarter of a century.

 

Wren, in his seventh season as GM, was fired one day after the Braves were eliminated from the National League wild-card race with their eighth loss in nine games. Former Indians and Rangers general manager John Hart, a Braves senior adviser, was named interim GM.

 

Fredi Gonzalez, who has also drawn much criticism from fans during the second September collapse in his four seasons as manager, was spared the ax, at least for now while a search for a new GM is underway. At a minimum, there are expected to be several changes made to Gonzalez’s coaching staff.

 

Wren, 56, was in his 15th season in the Braves organization, including eight as an assistant to legendary former general manager John Schuerholz, whom he replaced after Schuerholz moved to his current team president post following the 2007 season. Wren was fired from his previous major league GM position with the Baltimore after one season.

 

Hart, who was hired by the Braves as an advisor in November, will handle GM duties until a permanent replacement is hired. The Braves formed a three-person transition team of Schuerholz, Hart and longtime former manager Bobby Cox to conduct the search for a permanent GM.

Hart, 66, also works as an analyst with MLB Network and isn’t believed to have interest in returning to a GM position.

 

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-fire-gm-frank-wren/nhRw2/

[Dnice]

Wow... I was thinking someone would finish out the season before they got the boot. Thank goodness for football, I couldn't take them looking so bad, and listening to the commentators. I just heard on the espn radio break.

[frosgrim]

Necessary but insufficient move. A full house cleaning is in order of the coaching staff as well. McDowell is the only guy that should be retained. It is time for the organization to reboot itself and reorganize. They need to build themselves in the mold of the TB Rays, but with at least some of the financial means to keep homegrown talent in-house.

 

However, the first step is building a solid minor league system that teaches hitters to make solid contact, corrects bad mechanics and emphasizes situational hitting. It is amazing to me that both Heyward and Simmons could come to the majors with such awful swing mechanics.  

 

From the pitching perspective they have to start really emphasizing power pitching. None of the guys in the starting rotation are power pitchers, in-fact Smoltz was really the only starting power pitcher I can remember developed within the Braves system and even he was traded for. It is great to have finesse guys but you need a high strikeout guy to get through October.

 

I actually wouldn't mind Cox taking over the GM duties for 3-4 years as he really build the minor leagues that produced the great run in the 1990s. Say what you want about Cox, but he has an eye for talent and he did motivate his guys to play for him. I can't say the same for Gonzalez.

[Guest]

If Bobby is involved, chances are Gonzalez stays.

[benhillboy]

I liked Wren. Any reasonable, fairly knowledgeable baseball fan could have expected at least a combined .260 average and 50 HRs from Uggla and Upton during these last two years. Both completely forgetting how to hit was remarkably unlikely, like hitting the lotto for over a stack.

I'm sure there were some who didn't like either player and certainly those who wouldn't have made the rich deals, but you can't show video of one seamhead who condemned the moves at the time. Brian Jordan called Wren the fall guy for their abominable failures, and I agree. The man doesn't get any leeway for locking up the best defensive stop and (arguably, lately) closer in the Majors (from our farm system to boot!) along with making two successful moves with two historically average pitchers in Harang and Santana in the midst of a starting pitching injury crisis? Consistently one of the top defenses and leaders in Quality Starts, and you fire him when a simple overhaul of the hitting philosophy was all that was needed. I would've had no problem with Freddie being gone, the value of a manager will be debated forever. Look no further than Boston's John Farrell or that piece of cardboard in The Bronx. A GM who took risks, was passionate, and wasn't shy about spending money to improve shouldn't go before the skipper.

Edited September 24, 2014 by benhillboy

[macdaddy]

I liked Wren. Any reasonable, fairly knowledgeable baseball fan could have expected at least a combined .260 average and 50 HRs from Uggla and Upton during these last two years. Both completely forgetting how to hit was remarkably unlikely, like hitting the lotto for over a stack.

I'm sure there were some who didn't like either player and certainly those who wouldn't have made the rich deals, but you can't show video of one seamhead who condemned the moves at the time. Brian Jordan called Wren the fall guy for their abominable failures, and I agree. The man doesn't get any leeway for locking up the best defensive stop and (arguably, lately) closer in the Majors (from our farm system to boot!) along with making two successful moves with two historically average pitchers in Harang and Santana in the midst of a starting pitching injury crisis? Consistently one of the top defenses and leaders in Quality Starts, and you fire him when a simple overhaul of the hitting philosophy was all that was needed. I would've had no problem with Freddie being gone, the value of a manager will be debated forever. Look no further than Boston's John Farrell or that piece of cardboard in The Bronx. A GM who took risks, was passionate, and wasn't shy about spending money to improve shouldn't go before the skipper.

 

I can agree with this but he had other really bad moves beside BJ and Uggla.   Like Kawakami and Lowe.   It's easy to forgive and forget about them unless you're still writing them checks.

 

But to me the biggest reason he should go is he loaded the team up with non-contact hitters.  Anti-moneyball.   Even if BJ and Uggla had continued to hit around their career averages, this team would have still gotten eaten up by good pitchers in the playoffs.   You just can't put that many strikeouts in the lineup.   Maybe if you have guys hitting .300 with 35 homers but not that many for guys hitting .260 with 20 homers.   That team is going nowhere even if everything clicks.

[Vol4ever]

If Bobby is involved, chances are Gonzalez stays.

Agree and that sucks.

Btw, how many ws did Bobby win????? Lol

[Guest]

Love John Hart. Hope he accepts the permanent position. The guy built those power mid 90's Indians squads with Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle(Joey lol), Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez. I think he would be awesome for us.

[DrReality]

They have been very stale for a long time.  Need more change. 

[mattlanta]

They have been very stale for a long time.  Need more change. 

 

Unfortunately, as long as Schuerholz and Cox are making the major decisions in this organization, we won't be seeing much change for quite a while. You can already see that this will be apparent for at least the next year or two with them leaning towards keeping Fredi Gonzalez.

 

If it were me, I would take a very close look at Kim Ng as our next possible GM. She has a ton of experience as she was an assistant in the front offices of the Yankees and Dodgers when they made their championship runs, and she's supposedly heavy into scouting so you can rest assured that she'll invest in that department so that our farm systems are always kept well-stocked.

 

Realistically, the Braves will most likely stick with John Hart for no more than a year and then promote John Coppolella.

[Guest]

Hitting Coach resigned.

[Guest]

Hitting Coach resigned.

He resigned? He shoulda been canned. We suck at hitting.

[Vol4ever]

Fredi needs to be shown the door immediately!  

[Guest]

Braves are bringing back Fredi 

[WraithSentinel]

Braves are keeping Fredi. He is in the last year of his contract. If the team struggles then he is gone. I found it interesting they hired Bo Porter to be his 3B Coach. I actually like Bo Porter. He didn't have much to work with in Houston. Bo could be potential replacement for Fredi if this team is struggling at any point.

 

[Guest]

Braves are keeping Fredi. He is in the last year of his contract. If the team struggles then he is gone. I found it interesting they hired Bo Porter to be his 3B Coach. I actually like Bo Porter. He didn't have much to work with in Houston. Bo could be potential replacement for Fredi if this team is struggling at any point.

 

Didn't know about his contract.

[macdaddy]

I think they should have let Fredi go.   

 

I hate those types of unwritten rules.   This is professional baseball not little league.   I've seen 7 run leads disappear before.  You can't handle getting shellacked then play better.    I don't see where bunting is any different than getting any other kind of hit.

[DrReality]

Surprised they didn't replace Fredi.  They said that Bobby Cox would have his say so in the decision. wonder how much weight his input was given. 

Edited October 3, 2014 by DrReality

[Guest]

Fredi is a Bobby Cox guy.

I thought they said the new GM would make the decision on Fredi?

I guess the new interim GM will get the job?